Distance of 22.9km. Steps taken 33,554. Time total on track 7 hours.

Mr D decided after staying in a big Albergue last night full of about 100 or so pilgrims, that he was not a fan & preferred the small intimate ones.

Breakfast started off with one toast of bread with butter & jam, 1 orange juice & a pretty average coffee. Well I suppose we are Pilgrims after all & should not be able to afford to dine like kings & queens. At least the Pilgrims dinners are a real treat & make up for it.

Another perfect clear blue sky day that started off chilly but by mid afternoon had become toasty warm. An easy walk passing through 4 small villages but more challenging than yesterday as Mr D suffered tight calf muscles & tired legs & I woke up with a sore throat, cough & headache. Not good signs!

We got chatting with the Dutch father & daughter Lottie & Hanne along the way, and the laughter continued about the strange tiny lady at dinner. We first met Lottie at Orisson when she asked Mr D if it was ok to charge her phone on top of his backpack. She is walking with her dad to Logrono only. I really get along with Lottie & Mr D really likes her fathers company, saying ‘He is a funny man! I wished they were walking to Santiago!’ Lottie & I took the lead as we walked & talked. Lottie shared half a delicious fresh peach with me. Hanne & Mr D lagged behind chatting away too. When we reached Zubiri, the first Albergue was full. Without checking the others, the two lovely Korean lasses we had met on day 1 were getting accomodation at a Pension ( similar to a B n B without breakfast ). Somehow all 6 of us ended up there & paid extra for our own private bedrooms, a real treat to be had. Of course the woman in charge spoke no English & no one knew how to communicate with her. It was all up to Mr D to take charge & converse with the lady using an iPhone app that translates what is being said. At one point he had the lady speak into the phone. But she spoke so fast & said too much that the app couldn’t translate what she had just said! Then Mr D took first shower yelling out in a panic to me “Quick get the woman! There’s no hot water!” Turns out the Korean lasses were hand washing their clothes in the kitchen sink at the same time using all the hot water! Poor Mr D had a very cold shower while the rest of us had lovely hot showers!

We stopped at the cafe bar close by for some refreshing beers. I saw the Aussie lady from dinner sitting there at a table. She waved at me saying she managed to walk all the way here despite the pain she was in last night & didn’t have to stop at the first village along the way. Sometimes a good nights sleep makes all the difference to the body’s recovery. The waiter guy wasn’t very enthusiastic at all. We sat with Lottie & Hanne. She asked the waiter did he have this kind of drink. The reply a short blunt No! His attitude continued as he slammed a drink loudly onto our table. Despite this, we enjoyed ourselves having a laugh at the waiter. Then I set off for the Farmacia, bumping into that tiny strange woman & her husband! She quickly fired off questions at me & it felt like the Spanish Inquisition, “When did you arrive? Where are you staying? Where are you going right now?!” She said “The lady at the Farmacia speaks English & is very helpful” Her husband said nothing again. Well, the Farmacia lady did speak English but was not very helpful, all she had was herbal throat lozenges for my scratchy sore throat. When I returned to Mr D, we headed over to the local sports shop so he could buy new socks as his pair had worn through on the heel. Well! There was a very beautiful young lady with a husky, sultry soft voice working there. Mr D was transfixed by her & agreed to buy a pair of ankle length socks that he normally wouldn’t as she said so sweetly “I’ve been working here for 4 years & I know what I’m talking about!” Afterwards Mr D says “I think I’ve been conned!” Pilgrim Larry concluded laughing “they are small children’s socks! You’re been had!”

We finished our night joining the delightful Larry & Liz for dinner & then some impromptu guitar playing at an Albergue down the road. Mr D, Larry & another Pilgrim called Ben took turns to play songs & entertain us all. What a great way to end a long hard day!